Clowning Around on Halloween

It has been awhile! Halloween came and gone and today is Thanksgiving. Let's begin with October. Layna has finally broken out of her shell at dance, and is now one of the more outgoing girls. Whew! I almost started losing hope, but those before class sessions with her teacher had definitely helped! They are working on their holiday recital dance, which is adorable! I can't wait until January and to show it to you.

Layna was Little Miss Indecisive for Halloween. She wanted to be a clown... a princess... a witch... and Minnie Mouse! She really had no choice once her simple but cute clown custom was made. We went trick-o-treating with Miss Aislyn and Kait and her family/friends. It was nice to enjoy the little "holiday" with friends. Layna was very into getting candy. Our first go at it, Layna would literally run to the door and elatedly say "trick-o-treat" and "thank you" while Aislyn was shy and hesistant. We went home had some dinner, warmed up, grab some hot chocolate, and then wagon, and headed out. However, while the girls were playing in the house Layna had an accident resulting in a costume change: Nurse in Training from last year. So, we took the girls on a second round of trick-o-treating in the wagon. It was a pretty enjoyable and successful Halloween.

After Halloween, Layna would say "Halloween all done" every time she saw any sort of Halloween decorations. Back in September, we (my mother and myself) told Layna a list of holidays and birthday before her birthday.  Layna made a card for Uncle Austin's birthday, and she was asking for her birthday. She has remembered the "checkpoints" pretty well. The list was like this:

Uncle Austin's birthday
Grandpy's birthday
Uncle Andre's birthday
Grandma Robidoux's birthday
Halloween
Thanksgiving
Layna's Birthday
Christmas
New Year's
Aislyn's Birthday

She has remembered it amazingly well. Once we celebrate one thing, she will tell us it's done and announce the next thing to celebrate. When we had our little snow fall in October, Layna saw the snow and shouted with excitement, "snow! my birthday soon!" I guess I shouldn't have to her the snow means her birthday is soon along with Christmas.

Layna has started night time potty training this week, which she has done amazing at! Four days in a row and not a drop of pee on her bed. She has actually woken up 2 nights to use the bathroom. I wish regular potty training was this easy! I am so proud of her!

This past Tuesday, Layna got to see Daddy, which was like Christmas for her ! I was happy to see her so excited.

Until next time,
Happy Thanksgiving!

painting pumpkins for Halloween 

watching "their friends" trick--treating

Beach Day with Aislyn and Layna

Today I (Mommy) got to spend the afternoon with Layna and her best friend, Aislyn. We went to the Douglas State Park, and played in the sand and the water. The girls were very well behaved; there were no time-outs. They listened, played, swam, and enjoyed the weather! It was a perfect beach day. Aislyn was showing Layna how to go underwater, and before I knew it, I had two girls dunking their heads under water .... and holding their noses sometimes too ! Here are some photos of the two girls:

the girls' first beach trip together (with Kim and Nina)
they're about 7 and 8 months old

this was from the other day, it's Layna's first rainbow!
(we might have seen one or two before,
but she actually understood what we were looking at )

Tall Ships and Splash Pad

Before I start, this is one of those "catching/updating" blog entries. So, just keep scrolling there's a lot of photos and a few of videos to check out!

Now, last weekend we joined Gramma and Papa Robidoux to Newport for the Tall Ships event. It was a bright, no-cloud-in-the-sky day. Layna was well-behaved and was excited to see the "big boats", as she would call them. We parked where we had to take the shuttle, which was a school bus. Layna sat in her seat and looked out her window. She was equally excited to be on the school bus !

After seeing the Tall Ships, we headed to Newport's Easton Beach. We visted this beach at least once a summer, usually after walking the Cliffwalk or/and visiting the Newport Mansions. The water was 70*, which we all loved and enjoyed swimming in. There was it's famous "red tide" where there is red seaweed, or something... Once you get past it you're all good to swim. Layna loved jumping with Mommy when the waves came. She did go under a couple times, but wasn't at all bothered by the salt water. She was definitely back in her element: water! hahaha.... she was running down the beach splashing and yelling with excitement, chasing seagulls, and playing the the sand.

Before heading home for the day, I was able to capture some great photos of Layna on the beach!

the first ship we saw!

so many boats out this day!

she wouldnt get any closer to the hole

a life boat

 

playing in the sand

probably pointing at the "boyydie" aka birds/seagulls 

video of Layna at the beach...

besides my smile... this is such a sweet photo of us!

I try to keep Layna happy, active, and entertained. We go to the park every couple of days to play on the playground, in the sand, and/or in the water at the Splash Pad. This is both of our favorite park. It has "everything" and is appropriate for ages 1-6 years old. Wish we had it in our backyard but 8 minutes down the road isn't bad either. 

literally ran straight through that sprinkler behind her over and over!

we were getting new shutters and she wanted to paint!

We spend a lot of time with Aislyn and Kaitlin. The two of them - Aislyn and Layna - crack me up all the time. This day they decided they needed haircuts along with the babydoll.